We need to see your partners letter. Dates and specific circumstances are important. In the letter linked to there appears to be no mention of POFA so as long as the drivers identity is not revealed they can't hold anyone liable for the charges, certainly not the keeper. Thats a stronger defence than quibbling over the term motorist, although it does look like the wording on the letter was written by an amateur, not sure how you can issue a charge to a vehicle.
The Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice frequently uses the term "motorist", although helpfully it isn't one of the defined terms in the CoP.
That said, I agree with ixxy that it's not something to get hung up on. The answer to the question is unlikely to be found in the appeals process or the County Courts, and the answer is also unlikely to be the key to getting the charge cancelled.
Once we see the notice we can advise on next steps.
Yes, I'll suggest to her to ask the manager at Waitrose as i understand a lot of shopping was done there along with a friend, and a meal in their cafe. Need to get a pic of the T&Cs as well.
We're working opposite shifts at the moment so won't see her until tomorrow morning!
I'm not too hung up on the term "motorist" either.
If the driver has not been identified, this notice is too late to use PoFA 2012 to transfer the liability from the unknown driver to the registered keeper. Deemed to be delivered 7 January, which is one day too late.
The notice does not appear to attempt to use this legislation, hence possibly why the vaguer term “motorist” was used. The registered keeper should “appeal” to say she’s not liable.
As jfollows rightly notes, too late for PoFA compliance. The keeper could send a standard PoFA based appeal such as the one below:
Dear Sirs,
I have received your Parking Charge Notice (Ref: ________) for vehicle registration mark ____ ___, in which you allege that the driver has incurred a parking charge. I note from your correspondence that you are not seeking to hold me liable as the registered keeper, under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ("The Act"). You have chosen not to issue a Notice to Keeper in accordance with The Act, and it is now too late for you to do so.
There is no obligation for me to name the driver and I will not be doing so. I am therefore unable to help you further with this matter, and look forward to your confirmation that the charge has been cancelled. If you choose to decline this appeal, you must issue a POPLA code.
Yours,
If appealing online, be careful there are no drop down/tick boxes that cause them to identify who was driving, and keep a close eye on the spam folder for their response. If they do not respond within 28 days, chase them.
Britannia are sometimes an awkward bunch, so if they do reject the appeal, I'd be confident that a POPLA appeal will see it off.
Should I replace the word "driver" with their term "motorist" as it's what they use.
No - Britannia can use whatever wording they choose, the wording used by the relevant legislation (PoFA) is that which I would use.
Understood, thanks for that.
My partner has now sent the letter by signed-for delivery. The on-line appeal form wouldn't accept the PCN number for some reason.
What's done is done but we generally advise against using 'signed for' services. If the recipient refuses to sign for it, all you are left with is proof your letter has not been delivered. With regular first class post you enjoy a presumption of delivery.
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